Nintendo Switch PAX South Preview - Good Handheld, Bad Console

[Steven Bogos]

Nintendo Switch PAX South Preview - Good Handheld, Bad Console

While The Nintendo Switch is fairly lackluster as a home console, it's amazing performing its real purpose: a successor to the 3DS.

Read Full Article

 

[Jacked Assassin]

I really want to play LoZ:BotW & I don't have a Wii U. On the other hand I don't think I should buy a Nintendo Switch until Skyrim. Or Nintendo confirms LoZ:TP for Nintendo Switch.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

I kind of hate it when people expect something to be bad, and it turns out to be bad.

A surprise every once in a while would be welcome.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Yeah, this is a portable console that can also be hooked to the tv without a vita-tv-style peripheral. It isn't news.


I've always said this; the switch needs to just inherit the 3ds's successes and it'll be fine. It'll easily outclass the Wii U and if it can manage to sell even half as well as the 3DS it'll compete with the ps4 and leave the x1 in the dust. People just need to stop thinking of this as equal to those systems and then the issue goes away. This is a portable that can also work your tv.

 

[Cold Shiny]

It's Nintendo's fault for advertising it as a console at all. They should have just advertised it as a handheld that can hook up to the TV. You never know, that might have even shut up the GRAFAX crowd.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

So does that leave the Wii U without a successor?

 

[American Tanker]

As I expected, it's garbage.

Yeah, now not even the ultimate mega-bombshell of having F-Zero, 1080 AND Wave Race as launch titles would get me back on board with Nintendo.

 

[RejjeN]

It's been noted that the framerate issues of BotW aren't as prevalent (or aren't there at all) on the preview version that was hands-off at the Switch Event, probably as the hands-on preview versions were the same from last years E3 event and was thus not as optimized. (Speculation made by ProJared who attended the event and played and watched both versions).

In short while I doubt it's as powerful/more powerful than the PS4, I also don't think it's going to be as disappointing as Mr. Bogos seems to believe.

 

[bjj hero]

So few developers are working on this though, even Nintendos own efforts look half arsed. I do not see how people can justify ?300 to play the new Zelda... and skyrim... which everyone who wants to play it has already played it else where.

 

[Vern]

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm really looking forward to March 3rd. Then I can buy Breath of the Wild and get some use out of my Wii U. I mean the damn thing never even had a proper new Mario game. Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 were on the Wii, all the Wii U got was Super Mario 3D World, which is kind of fun, but not a full fledged Mario game like Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine were. It'd be really nice if they re-released Sunshine for the Wii U with high resolution support, it was a fantastic Mario game. But that won't happen.

And my biggest problem, dear Nintendo, is your love affair with multiple control schemes. Just use a damn controller. When I got my Wii U I had to buy a Wiimote plus and nunchuck to use the backwards compatibility, and I still can't play wii games worth a shit, GoldenEye is impossible to control with the wiimote and nunchuck. I got sick of using the display pad as it's unwieldy as hell, and it's very seldom that a game has a legitimate use to it, so I had to get a procontroller. Which I thought was great, and I looked forward to using it to play the wii's back catalog, but you can't, you can only play them with the wiimote. And then I had to buy another pro controller, because nobody wants to use the damn display pad when they can just use a controller. Oh, and I accidentally bought a standard wiimote, instead of the wiimote plus, which doesn't work with quite a few games.

So, $300 investment, plus close to $200 to get controllers for the thing so that I could play games, and play them with 1 to 2 other people. Whee. I realize Xbone and PS4 controllers are pricey, but far less confusing. Three extra controllers, maybe $180, and they work with all games. And they actually work, unlike those piece of crap wiimotes.

 

[Guffe]

This is pretty much how I have been looking at the Sw?tch since the announcement a few weeks back.
It's a portable/handheld which can play more demanding games than the current handhelds, and it can be hooked to the TV for couchmultiplayer. Would've been cool if the upgrade when docking was a little more powerful, but seeing as how I am using my 3DS more than my WiiU these days, and to be able to have the newest Zelda game on the go (and other titles later on like Xenoblade and Skyrim which are announced) this might actually be a buy for me...

 

[Eric the Orange]

The Switch, or as I call it the Vita 2, is probably something I'll get eventually as a Fan of JRPGs.

But as a business model I don't think it will work. It looks like it's gonna fall into the same potholes the Vita fell into. In that the games that go on handhelds generally have small niche audiences, but also cost less to make. But if the hardware is too strong than the games will cost too much to make back the cost on the relatively smaller audience.

Which may be why they are trying to push it as a console so much. Hoping that it will have the wider console install base to justify the cost to make the games that can take full advantage of it's hardware.

I don't think that will work but I thought the Wii wouldn't work either so what do I know.

 

[totheendofsin]

Anyone who was expecting the Switch to be as powerful as the PS4 or XB1 is delusional, I could have told you it wasn't going to be back when the first trailer for the thing came out

also it's worth noting that the Breath of the Wild demo is likely based on an older build of the game, as from what I've heard the hands off demo doesn't have the framerate issues

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Since Breath of the Wild is the flagship title, it should run at 1080 @60fps. The initial console seller failing to do what they said the console is capable of, is just a bad move. As a handheld, it might do better than the 3DS, of course the battery only lasting about 3 hours will hurt it.

 

[RJ 17]

All that and you didn't even have to bring up the hilarious online service. My favorite part is how you get to borrow a rom for a month before being told you have to buy it. :^)

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

I'd usually say for a new console, I'd want 3 exclusives, or at least launch titles, that I really want to play before buying. The idea of slowly trickling out games just makes me think the opposite, or more like, why the hell bother? I'll get it when it has a library I'd be more invested in. And wait out to see if the launch price gets any cheaper, and what feedback and reviews are like.

So far, even the Nintendo flagship Mario title looks kinda dubious (but I'm willing to give benefit of the doubt as I know nothing as of yet), but is not even a launch title, AND Mario Kart is just a reboot of the last one.

Still awhile to wait then.